By Laura McCormick
‘My Story, Our Future’ Student-Curated Exhibit Celebrates South Asian American Youth Heritage
India Cultural Center, UConn Asian and Asian American Studies Institute Partner with the Historical Society to Support State’s Asian American/Pacific Islander Curriculum
Greenwich Historical Society and India Cultural Center in partnership with UConn Asian and Asian American Studies Institute (AAASI) launched its second annual student-curated exhibit My Story Our Future: South Asian American Youth Voices in Connecticut, on display through February 25th, at a reception attended by families, the community, and several government dignitaries.
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and U. S. Representative Jim Himes spoke informally about the importance of exploring, presenting and celebrating the diversity of Greenwich through collaborative community programs such as My Story, Our Future. Dr. Jason Oliver Chang, UConn/AASI shared his rewarding experience serving as faculty mentor and guide; and each of the participating students spoke about the significance of the initiative in learning about their heritage and the contributions of their relatives in shaping their identities as South Asian Americans.
ICC founders Nisha Arora, Mudita Bhargava and Meera Gilbert explained the mission and work of ICC to educate and engage the community in Indian culture. Nisha Arora added further context about the scale of Indian American accomplishments, recognizing their shared cultural emphasis on education and prominence on the world business stage, with people of Indian descent leading many major corporations such as Google, Microsoft, IBM, YouTube, Starbucks, FedEx, MasterCard and Chanel, among others. Considering Indian Americans represent less than 1.5 percent of the U.S. population, it is a remarkable achievement.
My Story, Our Future is aimed at collecting and sharing stories about South Asian American youth identity in Connecticut in support of the state’s mandated K-12 Asian American/Pacific Islander curriculum.
In 2022, Dr. Chang successfully led the campaign to integrate Asian American & Pacific Islander studies into the state of Connecticut’s K-12 curriculum. To develop the curriculum Dr. Chang turned to communities like ICC to uncover the stories that make up Asian American history. It was Dr. Chang’s idea that today’s students could be the voices for tomorrow’s students.
In the fall of 2023 a group of middle school and high school students of South Asian descent from Fairfield County, CT and Westchester County, NY convened at the Greenwich Historical Society for a series of oral history interview training workshops. Under the guidance of faculty from the UConn (AASI), students took part in reflection on their identities as South Asian Americans and discussion of how their family stories of immigration and life in India shaped those identities. The oral history interviews these students conducted with their family members will build awareness of the contributions of South Asian Americans in our community. The interviews will also play a role in shaping the State of Connecticut’s newly mandated K-12 Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) school curriculum. This grassroots approach to curriculum building is at the heart of the My Story, Our Future project.
The My Story, Our Future Exhibit
In collaboration with Greenwich Historical Society Curatorial and Education staff, the student participants of My Story, Our Future developed the exhibit as the culmination of their work, consisting of personal items and keepsakes relating to their family oral histories.
“It’s a privilege to once again join with ICC, UConn AAASI and the participating students and their families on this initiative to further the community’s understanding of what it means to be an Asian American growing up in Fairfield County,” says Maggie Dimock, curator of exhibitions and collections at Greenwich Historical Society.
‘My Story, Our Future’ is on display through February 25th. Greenwich Historical Society is located at 47 Strickland Rd., Cos Cob, CT. It is open Monday – Friday, from 9am – 5pm; Saturday – Sunday, from 12pm – 4pm. The My Story, Our Future oral histories are also available on Spotify. For more information: https://greenwichhistory.org/event/my-story-our-future-2/
